November 20, 1932
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENG
In place of a colorimetric determination of the acetylene formed, as hitherto the practice, the authors oxidize the acetylene by passing the C2H2 into a furnace containing iodine pentoxide: C2H2 + · I2O6 = 2CO* -h I2
The iodine liberated is fixed by a concentrated solution of potassium iodide, and the CO2 is absorbed by baryta water in which it is measured electrometricaJly. A special device makes this measurement continuous, and another device permits a continuous record of the results on paper. (The authors derived their inspiration for continuous recording from the device used by the Nitrogen Engineering Corp. for the continuous measurement of carbon monoxide, the other toxic principle in the synthesis mixture.) SUGAR QUOTAS REQXJIBE ANOXHBR MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SUGAR CONFERENCE
Although it was believed that the International Sugar Conference held in Ostend last July terminated the activities of the group [NEWS EDITION, 10, 240 (October 10, 1932) J, the présidente of the various delegations met; again in Brussels on October 3 and 4. Delegates have maintained the most absolute secrecy concerning the discussions. Semi-ofBcially we have learned that the new meeting was necessitated by Cuban demands. The Cuban export quota will be increased by 115,000 tons in 1933 and by 75,000 tons in 1934 and 1935. These additional amounts will be deducted from the deficit i n the German export quota. We give these figures with all possible reserve, since, as we have said above, the greatest secrecy WSLS observed with regard to all details of the conference. I t has been decided that the next sugar conference will be held in Pari3 on December 12. Will a definitive agreement then be reached? TEN BELGIAN COMPANIES FORM A. FEDERATION OP ALL NITROGEN PRODUCERS
Under the title of the "Belgian Federation of Nitrogen Producers," a cooperative company was formed last August in Brussels, embracing all Belgian firms or those operated in Belgium whose activities are directly concerned with the nitrogen industry. Belgium has ten companies which manufacture nitrogen products (fertilizer) from synthetic ammonia, obtained by the Claude and Casale processes. The cooperative group just formed, including as it does all the interests concerned with the manufacture of nitrogen derivatives, constitutes a. national entente to control price and production. It is unnecessary to add that our nitrogen industry is far from producing a tannage which represents 100 per cent of the capacity of i t s factories. In this field also, the world economic crisis shows i t s effects most perceptibly. BRUSSELS I S CHOSEN FOR Two ECONOMIC CONTBRBNCES
The next International Zinc Conference will probably be held in Brussels. According to a rececnt communication, "This assembly will have the task of examining the question of the continuation or the dissolution of the entente. There is every reason to believe that the agreement will "be renewed, since the convention has so far had great success, especially in the fixation of price and the control of production." A-t the time of writing, the date of the meeting has not been officially announced. As a result of a report presented by the Belgian delegate, the International Wool Conference, -which has just convened in Amsterdam, has appointed a special commission which will meet soon in Brussels to study a project for an international customs agreement between the European countries which manufacture woolen goods. The Belgian delegate will preside over this conference. METALLTJRGIC PORTLAND· CEMENT PROVES SUPERIOR TO SLAG CEMENT I N RESISTANCE
Belgium will soon be the only coontry which remains faithful to the term "ciment de laitier" as a designation for the product obtained by cold grinding a mixture of slag and hydrated lime, according to Mr. Cousin, chief of service of the Cockeril company, who recently addressed a meeting of the members of the Belgian Industrial and Engineering Society. In fact, the majority of countries have abandoned this term, since the product is not a cement if it is a good hydraulic binder. Instead it is a mixture in which the lime enters as a catalyst, with only a small proportion taking part in thxe chemical reaction. Mr. Cousin indicates a more effective catalyst—ordinary Portland cement. He says that grinding a mixture of 70 per cent slag with 30 per cent clinker gives a product essentially different from that obtained by grinding 70 per cent slag with 30 per cent lime. The resistance of the mortars obtained by the slag clinker mixture equals that o f mortars obtained from pure Portland cement. The manufacture of metallurgical Portland cement can be considered as a combination of two different processes: the manufacture of limestone slag choker in a rotary kiln; and the final treatment of slag with the clinker obtained. At the factory of the Cockeril company in Liege, slags are classified in twelve categories in accordance with their physicochemical properties. The working of the blast furnace establishes the classification.
NEERING
CHEMISTRY
283
The treatment of slag with pure clinker improves the quality of the cement. A notable improvement consists in preventing the escape of the heat of setting. This principle has been applied in work on the tunnel under the Escaut in Anvers, where wells across 30 meters of water-bearing sand have had to be dug by freezing. Metallurgical high-resistance Portland cement has been used there without endangering the solidity of the frozen wall. BELGIUM BANKS AS WORLD'S GREATEST PRODUCER OP COBALT
In 1931, the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga in the Congo produced 370 tons of cobalt, which makes it chief world producer. The two other cobalt-producing countries, British India and Australia, have a far lower output. Cobalt is refined in Belgium at the modern factory of Oolen (near Anvers), famous for its electrolytic copper-refining installations. NEW
GERMAN OXIDE PRESERVATIVE FOR ALUMINUM
THE LANTA WERKE, the largest producer of aluminum in Germany, has developed a method of producing a thin oxide coating on aluminum which protects it from corrosion. The chemical composition of the protective coating is said to be identical with corundum and to possess the same hardness. Furthermore, the new product is claimed to be nonporous and colorless and does not change the appearance of the metal. The new coating may be produced in different colors and as no lacquering or other protective coating is necessary for aluminum parts, automobile interests are considering the material in the construction of light cars built essentially of aluminum and plywood.
Off t h e Press PH.D.
DEGREES AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OP THE UNIVERSITY OP MINNESOTA
has issued through the University of Minnesota Press a "Register of the Ph.D. Degrees Conferred bv the University of Minnesota, 1888 to 1932." This list gives the name of the individual who has earned the degree, the date of the granting of the degree, the major and minor fields of study, the title of the thesis, the literature citation to the published thesis, the major adviser, the positions held by the individual since the granting of the degree, including his present position, and honors which have accrued to the individual since the granting of the degree. It is of interest to note that 75 Ph.D. degrees have been granted by the School of Chemistry and 57 degrees by the Division of Agricultural Biochemistry, making a total of 132 in the strictly chemical field. In addition to these, a number of degrees have been granted in physiology, medicine, plant physiology, etc., where the training of the individual concerned is essentially that of a biochemist. PAINT SPECIFICATIONS OF STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS
A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY of the paint specifications of all
state highway departments in the United States has just been completed by the Lead Industries Association, 420 Lexington Ave., New York, Ν. Υ., covering all the states except Alabama, Delaware, and Wyoming. Of the 45 sets of specifications covered, 41 are definite as to the paints to be used for priming or shop coats on structural steel; 32 require pure red lead paint; and 5 more include it as optional. Pure blue lead paint is op tional in 4 states. Only one state out of 41 fails to specify a lead base for timber paint. The average of white lead-zinc oxide paints specified is over 70 per cent white lead.
I N D E X OF W A T E R A N A L Y S E S
THE GEOLOGICAL STJBVET has issued as Water-Supply Paper 659-C a report by W. D. Collins and C. S. Howard, entitled "Index of Analyses of Natural Waters in the United States 1926 to 1931." This is a continuation of Water-Supply Paper 560-0 which covered the subject through 1925. A brief dis cussion of types of water analyses is followed by lists of reports for each state with brief notes las to the number and kind of analyses in each report and its availability. The two watersupply papers are being sold by the Superintendent of Docu ments, Government Printing Office, Washington,. D. C , for 5 cents each.
N E W S E ID I Τ Ι Ο Ν
284
CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON ELECTS OFFICERS T H E BOARD OP MANAGERS
of the Chemical S o c i e t y of Washington elected the following officers at a meeting held November 10, 1932: President, Paul E. Howe; Secretary'> James H. Hibben; Treasurer, Orville E. May; Councilors, H. T. Herrick, H . G. Knight, E- W. Washburn, E. Wichers, R~ E. Gibson, and M. X. Sullivan; Managers, J. A . Ambler, N. Bekkedahl, J. F . Couch, R. E . Gilchrist, A. T . McPherson, and A. R. Merz. PATJL Ε . H O W E
NORTHEAST TENNESSEE SECTION
MEETS
THE NOVEMBER MEETING of the section -was held November 4 at Elizabethton, Tenn. The meeting was preceded b y a dinner, at which about sixty members and guests were present. This was thefirstmeeting of the section at Elizabethton. At the conclusion of the dinner a brief business session was held. D. E. Northrup gave an account of the Denver meeting of the SOCIETT. A. C. Adams, professor of chemistry, King College, Bristol, Tenn., gave an address on "Some Recent Ad vances in the General Field of Chemistry," -which was followed b y an interesting discussion. An enjoyable social hour followed, during which the bowling alleys, billiard room, etc., of the American Beraberg Glanzstofl* Clubhouse were well patronized.
Calendar of Meetings
Vol. 10, No. 22
Other Scientific Societies AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OP TEXTILE CHEMISTS AND COLORISTS.
King Cotton Hotel, Greensboro, N . C , December 2 and 3, 1932.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OP CHEMICAL ENGINEERS.
Hotel Wash
ington, Washington, D . C , December 7 t o 9, 1932.
FOURTEENTH EXPOSITION OP CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES.
Grand
Central Palace, New York, Ν. Υ., week of December 4, 1933.
INTER-SOCIETY COLOR COUNCIL.
Columbia University College
of Pharmacy, 113 West 68th St., New York, N . Y. 28, 1932, 10:30 A. M.
December
NATIONAL EXPOSITION OP POWER AND MECHANICAL ENGINEER
ING. Grand Central Palace, New York, J>Ï. Y., December 5 to 10, 1932.
Financial JNews AIR REDUCTION Co. The statement of tne Air Reduction Co. for the third quarter of 1932 shows net profits of $425,920, after deduction for estimated federal income taxes. Capital stock outstanding is 841,2883/s shares without par value. COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORP.
The net profit of the Com-
mercial Solvents Corp. for the quarter ended September 30,1932, is shown by the company's report to b e $305,562, or 12 cents per share on 2,530,218 shares outstanding. The net earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30 are 35 cents. The company is building up a large inventory of solvents made at record low costs based on present prices of com. Pick-up of the rayon industry has increased sales of acetone, and net earnings for the year are indicated at 45 to 50 cents a share. The company has $3,200,000 cash on hand after expenditures for inventory. Plante have been operated at capacity since January 1. Dow CHEMICAL Co. At a meeting of the board of directors of the Dow Chemical Co., held October 18, dividends as follows were declared payable November 15 t o stockholders of record at the close of business November 1, 1932: 1.75 per cent on preferred stock, and 50 cents a share on non-par value stock. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & Co., INC.
The report of E. I.
du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., for the quarter ended September 30 states that the company earned 36 cents a share on 10,838,799 American Chemical Society shares of common stock, the average number outstanding, as 85TH MEETING. Washington, D . C, week of March 26, 1933. compeared with $1.12 a share in the corresponding period of 1931. These figures include dividends from General Motors investment. 86TH MEETING. Chicago, 111., week of September 11, 1933. For the nine months ended September 30 earnings were equal to 87TH MEETING. St. Petersburg, Fla., March, 1934. SI.37 a share on an average number of 10,865,592 shares of com88TH MEETING. Cleveland, Ohio, autumn of 1934. mon stock, as compared with $3.37 for the corresponding period FIFTH NATIONAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY SYMPOSIUM. Cornell in 1931. University, Ithaca, Ν. Y., December 28 to 30, 1933. HERCULES POWDER Co. For the nine months ended SeptemLOCAL SECTIONS ber 30, 1932, the Hercules Powder Co. shows a net profit of after deductions for depreciation, federal tax, etc., as / JES. November 29, 1932. "The Neutron and the Photogra $538,587 compared with $1,087,886 for the corresponding period in 1931. phy of Alchemy," by W. H. Harkins. Dividends $562,276 were paid on preferred stock and $950,096 CONNECTICUT VALLEY. Springfield, Mass., December 10, 1932. on commonofstock. DETROIT. December 15,1932. Speaker, R. A. Baker. EASTERN N E W YORK. Union College, Schenectady, Ν . Υ., MONSANTO CHEMICAL WORKS. The Monsanto Chemical December 16, 1932. Speaker, Marston T- Bogert. Works and subsidiaries report for the quarter ended September 30 ERIE. December 13, 1932. Speaker, Marston X . Bogert. a net profit of $201,821 after deduction of charges and federal IOWA. November 28, 1932. "The Neutron and the Photogra taxes, equivalent to 47 cents a share o n 429,000 no-par shares of stock, compared with $258,361 or 60 cents a snare in the preceding phy of Alchemy," by W. H. Harkins. KANAWHA VALLEY. Hotel Ruffner, Charleston, W. Va., De quarter and $361,720 or 84 cents a share in the third quarter of cember 12,1932. Dinner,6:30 P.M.; meeting,8P.M. "What's 1931. For the nine months ended September 30, 1932, the net Ahead for the Chemical Industry in 1933," fcy S. D. Kirk- profit was $736,042, equal to $1.71 at share, compared with patrick. $1,033,174 or $2.40 a share in the first nine months of 1931.
KANSAS CITY.
December 2, 1932.
"The Neutron and the
Photography of Alchemy," b y W . H . Harkins.
TEXAS GULP SULPHUR Co. The Texas Gulf Sulphur Co. re-
ports for the quarter ended September 30, 1932, net income of $1,434,853 after depreciation and federal taxes but before depleand the Photography of Alchemy," b y W. H. Harkins. tion, equivalent to 56 cents a share on 2,540,000 shares of no-par MIDLAND. The Dow Chemical Co., lecture Room, December stock. This compares with $1,384,423 or 54 cents a share in the 14, 1932. "The Development of Organic Medicinals Having preceding quarter and $2,315,926 or 91 cents a share in the third Hypnotic Action," by H. A. Shonle. quarter of 1931. For the nine months ended September 30, NEW YORK. Chemists' Club, New York, Ν. Y. December 2 , 1932, the net income was $4,541,811 before depletion, equal to 1932. a share, compared with $6,704,091 or $2.64 a share in the OMAHA. November 30,1932. "The Neutron and the Photogra $1.78 first nine months of 1931. During the last quarter the company phy of Alchemy," by W. H. Harkins. its reserves for depreciation and accrued federal taxes ROCHESTER. December 5, 1932. Speaker, C . C. Nitchie. decreased $77,072, making the total of these reserves $13,570,379 on ST. LOUIS. St. Louis University, School of Medicine, De by cember 5, 1932. Dinner, 6:30 p. M.; meeting, 7:45 P.M. September 30, 1932. Speakers, C. J*. Monroe, M. E. Thorpe, D. W. MacCorquodale, UNION CARBIDE AND CARBON CORP. The Union Carbide and and A. Kirkpatrick. Carbon Corp. reports for the third quarter, ended September 30, UNIVERSITY OP MISSOURI. December 3, 1932. "The Neutron 1932, net income after all charges of $1,984,917, equal to 22 cents and the Photography of Alchemy," b y W. H. Harkins. a share on 9,000,743 shares. ThisYcompares with 25 cents a VIRGINIA. Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Va., Decem share in the second quarter and 22îcents in the first quarter. ber 9, 1932. Dinner, 7 P.M.; meeting, 8:151P.M. "Some Net profits for the third quarter in 1931 were $4,773,085, equal Phases of Coal Carbonization," by W . P. Ryan. to 53 cents a share. KANSAS STATE COLLEGE.
December 1, 1932.
"The Neutron
